“The Government has published a National Infrastructure Plan outlining the Government’s vision for the future of UK economic infrastructure. This is the first ever infrastructure plan for the UK. It outlines the scale of the challenge facing UK infrastructure and the major investment that is needed to underpin sustainable growth in the UK. It focuses on the networks and systems – in energy, transport, digital communications, floodwater, waste management and in science – that provide the infrastructure on which our economy depends. The plan gives clarity on the role of Government in specifying what infrastructure we need and how it can remove barriers to mobilise both private and public sector resources to maintain our world class infrastructure…In the Spending Review the Government has committed over £40 billion to infrastructure projects. The plan includes:

• Investing in a new low carbon economy – including a Green Investment Bank, up to £1 billion for one of the world’s first commercial scale carbon capture and storage demonstration projects, and the provision of grants to increase the uptake of electric vehicles;
• Providing the best superfast broadband in Europe by 2015 – a total of £530 million of investment over the Spending Review period;
• Investing £30 billion in transport – including a high speed rail network, Crossrail, over £10 billion for maintenance and investment in key road and local transport schemes across the country and £14 billion of funding to Network Rail to support maintenance and investment.
• Ensuring that the UK remains a world leader in science and research by continuing support for the highest value scientific research by maintaining a science budget of £4.6 billion, and £220 million of capital investment in the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation and £69 million in the Diamond Synchrotron.”